It goes without saying that life is anything but normal these days. Fortunately, I’m adapting to the shelter-in-place order here in the Bay Area just fine.
I live alone and often work from home, so my daily routine has remained essentially unchanged. I’ve been able to avoid trips to the grocery store because the fridge and pantry are well stocked. And I received two timely deliveries (of fresh produce and premium broths) from the folks at Cal-Organic Farms and Zoup!
All this to say, I had the luxury of preparing a party-size portion of vegetarian paella verde on Sunday, largely using ingredients on hand. Thankfully, the finished product was a success and I’ve been gladly eating the rice dish for lunch and dinner ever since.
If you are in search of a seasonal meal to make at home (and can pick up the necessary provisions), consider vegetarian paella verde. The recipe is forgiving, so feel free to sub in whatever combination of veggies you’d like.
P.S. Rookie and I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe, healthy and well fed!
Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- ¼ green bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup red wine
- 1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and pulsed in a food processor until finely ground
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼" cubes
- 4 green onions, cut into 1" pieces and separated into light and dark parts
- ¾ pound rainbow chard, stalks diced and leaves roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon saffron
- ½ pound asparagus, cut diagonally into 1½" pieces
- 1½ cups radishes, halved lengthwise
- 1 15 oz. can water-packed whole artichoke hearts, drained and halved lengthwise
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- chopped fresh parsley and lemon wheels (for serving)
- In a medium sauce pan, heat olive oil over low heat. Add red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Add wine and simmer until evaporated, about 3 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, rosemary and salt and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 50 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Heat olive oil in a paella or large shallow fry pan over medium heat. Add carrots, light parts of green onions and chard stalks and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add rice; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Then add 1 cup sofrito, smoked paprika and saffron; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add chard leaves, half of the asparagus and radishes, and vegetable broth and stir to combine. Scatter remaining asparagus and radishes over the rice. Reduce heat to low and simmer, without stirring, until the liquid is almost absorbed, about 17 minutes. Scatter artichoke hearts and dark parts of green onions on top, transfer to the oven and bake for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven (see notes**) and let paella sit for 5 minutes. Scatter parsley and lemon wheels on top. Serve immediately.
**At this point, you can drizzle 2 tablespoons Calabrian chile oil over the paella and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes to develop a layer of crispy rice - aka socarrat - on the bottom of the pan.
